Mental Health

Open, honest dialogue about mental health is so important. These posts offer perspectives often missing from the conversation.

Photo of Tiffany, an Asian woman with dark hair below her shoulders, leaning against a tree. She is wearing a hat and a red top. Her arms are crossed, and she is wearing a splint.

The Cultural Dynamics of Being Asian and Disabled

This year will mark 24 years of my life since becoming disabled. Through my work, my disability origin story is quite public. At the age of 9, I became disabled as a result of a car accident that also took …

An abstract pattern in hues of green with a silhouette of a person resting their hand pensively on their chin.

Who Gets Left Behind When We Practice “Evidence-Based” Mental Health Care?

As a counselor just beginning my career, I remember entering the session on evidence-based care for school-age students with an open mind. Of course, I wanted every intervention I used in my counseling office to be based on evidence –…

A pill bottle with brown pills spilled out next to it. To the right of this is a pile of medicinal herbs.

Finding the ME in (ME)dicine

Content note: addresses mental health and mentions suicide Finding the ME in (ME)dicine. Means finding out where I got lost. Pinpointing where I was misguided to believe that my self worth and need for self care was less than that…

Closeup hands of white person in pastel pink shirt with painted nails working on laptop and making notes in their notebook, which is on wooden table with a laptop and a cup of coffee.

How Working From Home Has Helped Me with Eating Disorder Recovery

Content note: discusses experiences of eating disorders, treatment, and recovery A few years ago, a couple of months before my 30th birthday, I left London and left my job. I was on the verge of being detained under the Mental…

A white woman sitting next to closed blinds, using her fingers to open them and peek through the window to outside.

How Can We Protect Our Mental Health When Discussing Disability and Assisted Suicide?

Content note: discussion of mental illness, suicide, and physician-assisted suicide If you or someone you know are in need of support, please consider the following resources: National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255 En Español: 1-888-628-9454 For people who are deaf/hard-of-hearing: 1-800-799-4889…

Bobcat Front track Skid loader surrounded by grass and fallen leaves.

“Move Your Head” – A Lesson in Conquering Doubt and Worry

“What did you say?” I asked J.P. “You heard me. Move your head! It’s in the way!” We were within five inches of each other’s face. Close enough for a kiss, but the usually dreamy blue-green eyes of my husband…

A yellow megaphone against a purple background with yellow lightning bolts coming out to indicate sound.

Safeguarding My Mental Health While Fighting Queerphobia in Zimbabwe

When you live in a country where laws are upheld that marginalize people who look like you, openly existing is a radical act of defiance. You know the risks of openly defying such laws. People vilify your existence, harming or…

Hungry for Change: On Inaccessible, Exclusionary, and Discriminatory Care for Autistic People with Eating Disorders

Trigger warnings: eating disorders, racism/racist health disparities, mental health disparities; ableism, misogyny, gaslighting of Black women and Latinas with eating disorders, homophobia, transphobia, fatphobia, and oppressive barriers to care The link between autism and anorexia is an international conversation,…

Three rows of outlines of heads, all in different bright colors with different colorful backgrounds

Speaking Up Against the Hierarchy of Mental Illness Taboos

There’s a moment I think back to often from my senior year of college. Before the start of a meeting, I noticed my friends were visibly upset about some of the outrageous things a mutual friend with bipolar disorder (who…